Last Friday, I joined what was estimated at 4,000 people in Union Square in New York City. We gathered to protest the murder of Renée Good and the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. But the purpose of the march…
The dawn of Apple Pie ISIS
Let’s be clear about language before we are clear about lives. The word “agent” will not be used here to describe armed, militia-style bullies with low emotional intelligence who terrorize communities, abduct children in Walmart parking lots, ambush day laborers…
Connecting the dots from the unitary executive president
You, along with millions of other American citizens, may be wondering where those tense confrontations in Minneapolis came from. What brought those 3,000 ICE agents to the Twin Cities and the angry citizens into the streets? Many different streams of…
Jesus Christ and Donald Trump are incompatible
“Choose this day whom you will serve.” — Joshua 24:15 Few things in life (or faith) are absolute, crystal clear, unambiguous and black-and-white. However, one absolute truth is that Donald Trump and Jesus Christ are incompatible. Numerous examples follow: Jesus…
Conversing with the code-red morally bankrupt mind of MAGA
Remember the famous scene in A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson’s character, Col. Jessup, bellows, “You’re goddamn right I ordered the code red!” Remember the stunned reaction of Lt. Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise? My recent experience wasn’t that…
If not now, then when, America?
The words of Tracy Chapman’s iconic song have been ringing in my head since the unjustified murder of Renee Good and now the senseless murder of Alex Pretti by federal agents. If not now then when? If not today then…
Pastoral care in a time of chaos
Recently after worship at First Baptist Church, Asheville, N.C., where I’m the interim minister of music, a choir member approached me almost as soon as the pastor had finished the benediction and said, “Doug, I’m scared.” Looking into this diminutive…
Why an open letter still matters
In April 2023, Baptist Women in Ministry shared an Open Letter to Baptist Women in response to an increase in actions against Baptist women who minister, lead and serve as pastors, specifically within the Southern Baptist Convention. In a recent…
As a Pentecostal, I wonder what’s happened to the Christian heart
It is common knowledge that evangelicals in the United States are staunch supporters of the MAGA movement. It’s not a stretch to suggest, had it not been for the evangelical vote, Donald Trump would not have been elected president even…
Redesigning wealth for a regenerative future
For generations, people in the Western world have fixated on scarcity. This mindset, rooted in the belief that resources and opportunities are limited, has shaped how Americans build their economy and define success. But as Buckminster Fuller pointed out decades…
‘That isn’t right’
My father told me a story about my Granddaddy this past summer that I’d never heard before. My paternal Grandfather was Baptist, like me. A real Baptist. The one who believed in organizational autonomy and the beauty of the Lottie…
America’s unfinished civil war
We are in the midst of an American civil war. This time, wool uniforms have been replaced by whistles, backpacks and face masks worn by ICE agents, and drafts have been replaced by calls from community organizers and federal recruitment…